Howie Cohn’s Question

Insights from a Retreat

Insights from Howie Cohn retreat

Agenda

At some level the dharma is very simple – BUT we are all different, we are different stages of the journey and the instructions about meditation to the beginner and the 20 year meditator need to be different.

Meditation with “old” instructions – ask for observations

Share insights from the Howie Cohn retreat

Meditation again with altered instructions.

Discussion –

Do the following Meditation

Focus on your nostrils and feel the breath coming in out.

It’s OK if your mind winders just let go of the thought and bring your focus back to your breath.

Notice how you feel when your mind wanders.

Count each time your mind wanders. See if you can do it less than 3 times in next 3 minutes.

Notice how you feel when your mind wanders.

Howie: There are a lot of beautiful birds here. You can focus on the sounds of the birds.

I focused on the beautiful and soothing sounds of the birds and it was a beautiful symphony that I could hear for hours and it really helped me focus. Meditation was wonderful.

Realization 1 – Any point of focus and concentration is supportive – Not just your breath. Birds

Caveat – at some point it might be nice to be able to focus on your breath because birds aren’t always there.

Q&A – Realization 2

Student Comment: I was told that if you focus your attention on your 3rd eye and keep it focused there your thoughts will stop.

My thought: “Wow, what a great idea!”

Teacher response: “Why do you want your thoughts to stop?”

I don’t like when my thoughts interrupt my meditation!

Realization: I can develop a different relationship to those thoughts and change the way that I feel about myself.

My reaction to the Q&A:

I have always known that we “shouldn’t” label and condemn our thoughts.

I also know that while meditating I am never pleased when I am distracted by thoughts. I might say to myself “It’s just a thought”, but underneath there is always a sense of disappointment and failure.

I thought: what would meditation be like if I was just as pleased by a thought arising as I was of the bird singing?

What is stopping me from responding to the thoughts with “radical acceptance”?

After meditation when I am trying to be mindful, I am often distracted by thoughts.

If I could see those thoughts like a bird’s song, my sense of self and life would alter dramatically.

You will have thoughts, don’t then have thoughts about why you shouldn’t have thoughts.

You will get angry, don’t get angry that you are angry.

The middle way is balancing accepting (not expecting to be perfect) with intentionality ( continually being striving and optimistic that you will become more and more conscious)

Equanimity, contentment – neither joy or sadness nor use of crutches.

Comparison – My experience

Tibetan Meditation

Helps beginners get focused more easily

Sadhana’s prayers, songs, visualizations inspirational alter your

disposition.

Insight Meditation

Cultivates mindfulness most effectively

Most helpful for awareness. (You can’t do mantras and listen to other people talk)

Rationalizing Acceptance – I thought about my thoughts:

Anxiety: There is within mechanisms (neural networks) created to protect me. All the anxious thoughts are generated to protect us from “tragedy”. Don’t those thoughts deserve to be loved and cherished?

Anger: The thoughts of anger are often generated based on a sense of injustice.

While acting on the anger could be problematic, being angry at the anger would not make things better.